Pension cashing in tops £6bn

Nearly 400,000 people took out £6.45bn of their pension cash in year to April, taking advantage of the new pension freedoms, HM Revenue and Customs said.

The figure covers both cash withdrawals and income drawdown, through which pensioners maintain an investment fund and take a regular income.

On average people pulled out more than £16,400 each between April 2016 and March 2017.

It's the second year that pension savers have been able to use their retirement nest eggs as they like, from the age of 55, subject to paying some tax.

It's hard to gauge from the HMRC figure how much more "cashing in" has been going on. The first year saw at least £4.35bn withdrawn - but pension providers weren't forced to submit full records.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/610451/Pensions_Flexibility_April_2017.pdf